EU, IOM, government join hands for safe migration

The European Union (EU) and International Organisation for Migration (IOM) have joined hands with the government to promote safe migration.
The project — a part of EU support on strengthening worker migration management capacities in Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines — is aimed at promoting ethical recruitment by providing
informed choices to foreign job aspirants, said chief of mission of IOM Nepal Maurizio Busatti.
"It will also strengthen pre-departure orientation, capacity of government agencies to manage worker outflow and train worker attachés to handle cases in destination countries," he said, while launching the project.
Nepal is one of the countries in South Asia that largely depends on remittance — the earnings of migrant workers. About 56.7 per cent households have been receiving remittance and its contribution to the national coffers is equal to 22 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), according to the World Bank.
More than 80 per cent of the 450,000 Nepalis who enter the job market every year have been joining foreign jobs in recent years.
Foreign jobs have become a compulsion for Nepalis, so it has to be managed and strictly regulated, said secretary at the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management Suresh Man Shrestha. "I hope the project will develop the environment and capacity of regulating agencies," he said, adding that managing worker migration has been a challenge for years.
About 3.5 million Nepalis are employed in foreign jobs, excluding India, and the outflow has been growing by the day. "About 2,000 Nepalis leave the country everyday for foreign jobs due to lack of opportunities in the country," said Shrestha. "Therefore, it needs a lot of joint effort from all stakeholders."
The EU supported project worth 1.9 million euros for four countries —
Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines — has adopted the
commitments made in Colombo Process Countries in the Dhaka Declaration in 2011. EU has contributed about 1.5 million euros for the project.
The declaration has highlighted the importance of promoting dialogue and cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination with deeper understanding of migration management.
EU, the major donor, believes that the project will enhance policy dialogue for migration for development. Proper management of worker migration will be determinative for the country's development in the next few years, said head of EU Delegation to Nepal Dr Alexander Spachis.